


The Last Butterfly

by SoulQueen



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2019-12-29 01:31:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18297602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulQueen/pseuds/SoulQueen
Summary: Festivia hated two members of the Magical High Commission: Reynaldo and Omnitraxas. Festivia hated looking back. Festivia hated monsters. But she found out she hated liars more.This is the story of how Glossaryck split the timelines. He could afford to be curious.





	1. She Wasn't Supposed to Know

                Festivia was waiting in the Bureaucracy of Magic for Hekapoo when Reynaldo the Bald Pate walked by with Lekmet. Unlike his brother, Reynaldo spoke in more than one tongue and greeted Festivia in modern Mewman.

                “Hello, Festivia,” he said. “Have you been reading your spell book?”

                “ _You’re_ supposed to call me ‘Your Majesty’, only Hekapoo gets to call me Festivia,” she said. “And no, I write my own spells. I made a new one this morning and I want Auntie to see it.”

                Reynaldo frowning, glaring off to the side. “Of course, why would you care about Butterfly history, you’re not even a re—” He was cut off by Lekmet’s sharp baa of warning.

                He sighed, “Yes, you’re right, we should get going.”

                “Wait, what was that you were about to say?” said Festivia. “I order you to finish that sentence.”

                “No time, little one, we have important magical things to attend to. _You_ can’t help,” he said, hurrying off.

                “Baa,” Lekmet agreed.

                Festivia grumbled, stamping her sandaled foot. “Wait.” She hated Reynaldo as much as she hated Omnitraxas, maybe even more. He was always bugging her about how week her magic was and insisting she learn about the past queens and learn _their_ spells. She was more of an in the moment person. Why dwell on the past, the past was only full of people she couldn’t meet.

 

                Hekapoo couldn’t meet with her that day, they were too busy with the war and all. She wished she could do more to help. They said she was helping enough just keeping the people happy while the fighting happened far away. She didn’t feel like she was helping. Festivia looked at her wand, it was in the shape of a chalice. She wondered if her mother would have been able to stop the fighting, she was powerful. _But she also ran off with a monster and left me. And then it ate her, that’s what you get for trusting monsters._ She grumbled.

                Back at the palace she fell down on her bed. “Glossaryck, do you think I’ll be powerful like my mom?”

                The little blue man was sitting on the Book eating pudding. “Not likely. Why, do you plan on learning a spell today?”

                “Ugh no, I already told you I don’t care about the Book.”

                “Not even your mother’s chapter,” he asked, brow arched. “Maybe she wrote something about you.”

                “Wait, really?” She sat up, straining her arms as they held her weight.

                “Of course, it’s all locked up, too dangerous and _far_ too advanced for you.”

                “Right now, you mean too advanced for me right now,” she glared.

                He ate another spoonful of pudding, watching her.

                She grumbled, hopping out of bed and marching over to him. “That’s it, give me one of her spells and I’ll prove to you that I’m powerful.”

                “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

                “I am the owner of the Book, you have to listen to me. I order you to tell me.”

                Glossaryck didn’t blink as she glared coldly down on him. He still wasn’t sure if he should do this, but orders were orders. And he was curious.

                “Lock the door first.”

                She did so. “Alright, now what.”

                “Hold your wand up in front of you, facing the empty wall preferably.”

                “Okay.” She got into position.

                “Repeat after to: I summon the all-seeing eye.”

                “I summon the all-seeing eye.”

                “To tear a hole into the sky.”

                “To tear a hole into the sky.”

                “Reveal to me that which is hidden.”

                “Reveal to me that which is hidden.”

                “Unveil to me what is forbidden.”

                “Unveil to me what is forbidden— wait, forbidden?” But it was too late, blue and orange flames made a hole in the air. First a giant eyeball appeared and then a room full of crystals.

                “W-what is that, how do I get a closer look?” The spell instantly zoomed in for her, showing an all too familiar woman encased in one of Rhombulus’s crystals. She saw that face every day. Her portrait still hung in the main hall. She had been desperate to know once, what her mother had looked like. “The Queen of Darkness. Mom?” Her concentration broken, the spell dissipated. Her legs trembled, buckled beneath her as she collapsed, exhausted.

                Breathing heavily, she turned to Glossaryck. “Why, why is Mom there?”

                Glossaryck shrugged. “I told you her spells would be too advanced for you. Why not take a nap, or a nice relaxing walk through the dimensions?”

                She wiped sweat from her brow, nodding.

                It didn’t make sense.

                Festivia had tried to take a nap. Festivia had tried to wrap her head around it. In the late hours of the night she got up fill her cup with juice, she was so tired she almost poured herself Yada-yada juice which would have taken forever to wash out. No, she was a grape juice girl.

                She pulled the Book into bed with her and flipped trough the three available chapters. Skywynne’s was kind of nice, but didn’t have what she needed. Jushtin’s was short, and Solaria’s was terrifying. But she found it. A spell to break crystals.


	2. Do You Remember Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Queen of Darkness is freed but she is not who Festivia thought she would get. She isn't sure what to do, but she doesn't want to be in charge during a war.

                Rhombulus and Lekmet lived together. All the Magical High Commission lived separately for some reason. Guess being siblings didn’t mean they had to like each other. Neither Lekmet or Rhombulus were at home though, they were in the Bureaucracy still. Hopefully they didn’t have an alarm.

                “Alright, find Mom and get some answers. You can do this Festi.” The whole place looked the same— crystal. “So how do I find Mom.”

                “I know where she is,” said Glossaryck, stretching in the air, expression smug. She almost screamed. “I mean, if you want.”

                Festivia massaged her temples and whispered, “Don’t do that. You scared me half to death.”

                “Well that would be bad, wouldn’t it? You can’t die without a Butterfly or someone to take your place.”

                “I don’t have time for this. If you’re not going to help me then just leave!”

                “Alright, then follow me.” He bounced away cheerfully.

                “Oh, wait,” she said, running after him.

                Rhombulus had crystallized a _lot_ of people. But in the center of it all, encased while floating, was her mother. The Queen of darkness herself.

               Festivia had done all the steps, but for one. “Okay, here we go.” She took a deep breath and used her grandmother’s Crystal Pulverizing Spell, pulling bow off of the rooster’s beak.

                Eclipsa gasped. Glossaryck used his magic to catch her, even Solaria’s spells exhausted Festivia. She really needed to make a spell to fix that.

                “D-do, you remember me?” she said, composed. They sat on the floor. She had conjured up more grape juice which Eclipsa sipped. “I’m your daughter, F-Festivia.” _Of course, she knows that, she’s your mother._

                Eclipsa looked around, pressing a hand to her forehead as if her headache. “How long was I in there?”

                “As long as I’ve been alive. Well, almost as long, seeing as you had to give birth to me first and all.”

                Eclipsa watched her carefully, as carefully as she watched out for Rhombulus. He wasn’t running here yet. She turned to Glossaryck.

                “Glossy, where’s my daughter?”

                The little blue man ignored her, eh was focused on her pudding.

                Festivia grew nervous, “You must be confused. I am your daughter.”

                “No darling, _you_ must be confused. My daughter is Meteora Butterfly. I’m afraid I’ve never seen you before.”

                “Wha-what?”

                “Glossaryck, answer me!”

                He grinned. “I don’t work for you.”

                Eclipsa huffed and turned back to this stranger. “Look, the people who crystalized me know where my daughter is and what really happened. They can’t find me or neither of us will ever know the truth. Do you understand?”

                Hesitantly she nodded.

                “But wait, Mom, why were you crystalized?”

                Eclipsa sighed, “I’ll tell you when we’re somewhere safe. Do you have dimensional scissors?’

                “Y-yeah.”

                “Alright then, I know a place.”

 

                Skywynne Queen of Hours was incredibly talented and Eclipsa had always been sure that she would have been a wonderful grandmother. Maybe she’d even have been as sneaky as her. Well, a girl could only hope. Regardless, she had been very skilled at finding empty dimensions to blow off steam in, not destroy them, of course. Not after last time. But there was one Eclipsa favored over all the others she had found, it was small and had been nearly lifeless when she got there. So, she had filled it with roses and a little cottage. She’d never shown anyone.

                “You wouldn’t happen to know if my father is still alive, would you?”

                They sat outside, having the tea and cakes Festivia had kindly conjured. Glossaryck sat in his pudding.

                “Who was your father?”

                “Alphonse the Worthy!”

                “Oh.” Festivia pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry, they never told me.”

                “She never looked,” said Glossaryck.

                Festivia glared at him, blushing. Eclipsa only smiled down at him.

                “Well, I can find that out later. I just want my daughter back.”

                “B-but I’m your daughter. Besides there’s a war going on right now.”

                Eclipsa only waved it away, chuckling, “Oh there’s always a war. My mother _loved_ them, a little too much.”

                “Way too much,” agreed Glossaryck.

                “But the monsters are going to kill us,” Festivia continued. “The Solarian soldiers are fighting them as we speak.”

                “Is that why you freed me? You wanted my help?”

                “No. I wanted my mother.” She slammed her wand down on the table, splattering the last dregs of her juice onto the chalice’s sides.

                “Well I’m afraid I can’t help you there. My daughter was taken from me before I was crystalized.”

                “Yes, that’s me.” Festivia gestured to herself.

                “She has curly light purple hair and pretty little clovers on her cheeks, and the cutest little tail.”

                “A tail?”

                Eclipsa grinned. “She got it from her daddy.”

                Festivia was baffled.

                “I married the Prince of Darkness after I left Shastacan,” just his name left a sour taste in her mouth. She washed it out with the tea.

                “Oh, okay. The Magical High Commission told me that you and King Shastacan were eaten by monsters.”

                “Well, maybe he was, one can only hope.”

                Not sure what to say to that, Festivia drank her tea, watching her mother carefully. It was still nighttime back in Mewni, if she left now, she could be back before anyone noticed. She’d go back to planning her parties and making new juices and forget she ever did this. She definitely had a spell for that. So why wasn’t she leaving?

                She watched the rooster scratch at the dirt, bunching up her skirt, she looked back at Eclipsa. “Should I give you back your wand?”

                Eclipsa looked surprised.

                “I mean, I’m not even fourteen yet, so I really shouldn’t be having it if you’re alive and,” her voice grew quiet. “I’m not very good at magic anyways.”

                “Well darling that’s up to you.” She sipped her tea. “After all you’re queen now.”

                “Okay. But you’re alive, so you should continue being queen.” Festivia held the wand out to her. “I’ll give you the Book back too, when we get back to the castle.”

                Eclipsa looked from the wand to the child and rested her gloved hand onto the cup. “Alright. But we can’t let anyone know anything is amiss. So, keep it until we’ve got a plan.”

                “Oh.” She hadn’t thought about that. “Right.” Festivia sat back down. “A plan for what exactly.”

                “To learn the truth. Come back here sometime tomorrow when the Magical High Commission are busy and sneak me in. I know just where to look in the Royal Archives to find out the truth. Hopefully they haven’t been keeping watch over it, or else this whole thing will blow up in our faces.”

                Glossaryck licked his bowl, stopping for a second to watch them.

                “How did you find me, anyways?”

                Festivia beamed, “I used your All-Seeing Eye spell, _Glossaryck_ didn’t think I could do it.”

                “You should check on thing back at Mewni then. To make sure no one’s noticed.”

                “Um…, okay.” Festivia blushed, casting in front of Mewmans was one thing, casting in front of Queen Eclipsa was a whole other.

                “Why don’t you do it, Clips? Festivia probably tired,” said Glossaryck.

                “Oh, good point. Sorry,” said Eclipsa.

                “Yeah,” Festivia yawned. “I’ve never been very good at pushing through, h-here.” She handed her the wand.

                The chalice glowed purple as it morphed into the parasol. Mauve balls of flight floated around it. Eclipsa cast her spell.

                The Magical High Commission were arguing in the meeting room. Glossaryck sighed, “Those children never change.”

                “Well neither does their daddy,” Eclipsa teased. “But it looked like you’re fine to head back now. Off you go.” She closed the spell and gave back the wand.

                “But shouldn’t you use it to find your daughter?”

                Eclipsa’s spades glowed red as she blushed, “Right. I hadn’t thought about that. Okay, one more time.”

                Festivia was amazed at how effortlessly Eclipsa did back to back spell casting. She usually had to take several breaks once she cast.

                “Look, there she is with that robot, isn’t she beautiful. You two are probably the same age.”

                Sure, enough there sat a girl with light purple hair dressed in blue, sighing as a robot mother applied make up to her cheek marks.

                “Now I just need to know where that is.”

                The spell zoomed out to show the ominous, dreaded, Saint Olga’s Reform School for Wayward Princess. It was still fairly new, but no princess who had ever gone there ever came back the same.

                “Well that’s new,” said Eclipsa. “But it should be easy to get her out of. She’s grown so much.”

                “R-right,” Festivia rubbed her arm. “She looks very pretty.”

                “And very sad,” said Glossaryck. He scoffed, “Mewmans.”

                Eclipsa just smiled at him, more amused than offended.

                “Yeah, we’re very emotional creatures. Festivia?”

                “Yes?”

                Eclipsa handed her back the wand, “Goodnight.”

                “G-goodnight.” She took the wand, turned away and then turned back, hugging Eclipsa. She laughed nervously, “S-sorry, I’ve just always wanted to hug you.”

                Eclipsa smiled warmly, “Well, I’m happy to give you another when you need it.”

                Festivia nodded, holding back tears.

 

                She really was tired, and was greatful to climb back into bed, hugging her wand like she usually did. She burrowed beneath the satin sheets and blew the candle out. Glossaryck yawned as he flipped to his bedroom in the Book.

                “Glossaryck, I really hope she’s my mother,” she said softly.

                Festivia was long asleep when he responded.

                “She’s not.”


	3. Where to Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Festivia and Eclipsa go to the Royal Archives. Borrows a lot from Eclipsa the Moon, but only because that was already a great episode.

                Eclipsa was very good at being sneaky, but as Glossaryck warned Festivia, she was impulsive and didn’t always think things through. “Her mother was the same only violent,” he said. “You’ll have to keep a sharp eye out as well to make sure nothing goes wrong. Of course, I’ll be watching from safely inside the Book. Call me if you need anything.” He shut the Book of Spells.

                “Why do I need to call you if you’re watching?” Festivia said, but he didn’t answer. She knew he could hear her.

                Huffing, she opened a portal to the Rose Dimension to get Eclipsa. The queen of darkness trimmed the bushes and watered the buds, while stuffing her face with chocolates. She had a never-ending stash in the cottage.

                “G-good morning,” called Festivia. “Are you ready?” She had to admit that she was a little excited to finally be having an adventure with her mother. Even if she wasn’t really her mother. _There’s always a chance Rhombulus’ crystals mess with your memory a little bit._

                Eclipsa crumpled a wrapper and threw it in a wooden bucket piled high with them. “Good morning, I believe so. How do I look? Does it still look like I’ve been encased in crystal for a decade?”

                “You look beautiful.”

                “So, it _does_ still look like I’ve been crystallized, good. This is the last outfit Meteora ever saw me in, I want to make absolute sure she recognizes me.”

                “Mhm.” Festivia nodded. “Well, I recognized you and I only met you yesterday.”

                “That’s true. Now,” she straightened her hat, “I believe I promised you a tour of the Royal Archives.”

                “Okay. I’ve never actually been in that room, Hekapoo said I didn’t need to be.”

                “Nonsense,” Eclipsa took the scissors from her, “you’re the princess, the Royal Archives are part of your birthright. Well, they were part of your birthright. You should still have a section there tough We can find it.”

                “O-okay.”

                They were let out in the lobby of the cottage, a fire in the hearth. Sean was in a food coma at the front desk. Eclipsa giggled, returning the Dimensional Scissors to Festivia who put her finger on her lips. They crept past the olive-green moose man into the corridors, Eclipsa keeping a sharp eye out for the wall she was looking for. “Now, when we get inside you must be very careful to watch your step,” she whispered to Festivia, “the whole place is boobytrapped.”

                “Why would they do that?”

                Eclipsa shrugged. “My grandmothers had a lot they wanted to keep safe. Come on, I spot it now. Keep a look out, okay?”

                Festivia nodded, “Okay.”

                Eclipsa hit the stones, each lighting up with a different color and music note. She danced against the wall, baffling Festivia, who almost laughed at how absurd it was. “Dah,” Eclipsa whispered, smiling as she hit the last two stones for the doors to open up. “Alright, let’s go.” She grabbed Festivia and pulled her in. They waited a bit as Eclipsa got her bearings and Festivia stood in awe of the secret tunnels and their amazing, and sometimes unsettling art. She wondered if those torches were lit constantly. Eclipsa climbed up on the stone railing, twirling.

                “Let’s see if I remember. Dark as a hall beyond the pitch, O where could there be light?”

                “What are you doing?”

                “Singing a little song, I wrote to help me remember my way.” She hopped down and ran ahead.

                “Ah, wait,” Festivia cried.

                “Dark as a hall beyond the pitch,” Eclipsa sung, hopping over a hole in the ground. Festivia did the same. “O where could there be light,” they came upon a sunbeam. Eclipsa pulled out a compact and the light reflected onto the second door with an eyeball, this one with a crescent moon over it. The light opened the eye and unlocked the door.

                They walked past two sets of staircases as she proudly sung, “Not up, nor down, but three steps round.” And then she ran around a corner.

                “Hey, slow down.”

                “Two doors down.”

                A statue of a man in a toga stood in the center of the opening, he held a torch in his right hand. The snakes behind him reminded Festivia of Rhombulus.

                “The torch will steer you right,” she finished. She pointed to the giant wooden door carved into the shape of an eye.

                “What’s with all the eyes?” Festivia said, nervous.

                “To let you know your every move is watched. It’s just how it is when you’re queen.” She twisted the doorknob. “Right, it’s locked.” She didn’t sound surprised at all, almost joyful. “We’ll have to use the rat hole.”

                “Rat hole?!”

                “Don’t worry, I’ll go first. Want me to let you in or shall you climb down with me?”

                “Please don’t leave me here.”

                Eclipsa pushed a large rock away to reveal the rat hole and promptly climbed down. Festivia, internally gagging, climbed down after her. _Ew_ , she thought, _rats made this._ It wasn’t very queenly. And it was incredibly dirty down there. _Maybe I should have let her go around._ Festivia had misjudged how far she was from the ground and lost her balance jumping down.

                “Woah,” she cried.

                “Got you,” Eclipsa said, catching her. “Are you alright.”

                “Y-yes.” She blushed, straightening herself out. “T-thank you.” _Why do I keep making a fool of myself?_

                “No problem. Now remember, watch your step. Wouldn’t want to set off the alarm, now, would we?”

                “R-right.”

                Festivia followed close behind Eclipsa, a little nervous in the dimly lit tunnels. It seemed like forever until they reached the archive room. There were a bunch of sentient printing press, writing desk things with purple feathered quills. Eclipsa took Festivia’s hand just to be safe. “I haven’t seen these little guys in forever. Hello,” Eclipsa said. She waved at one of them and they waved back.

                “This place is amazing,” Festivia said.

                “They’ve been recording everything that’s ever happened to the royal family. There’s so much stuff here it’s impossible to find anything. Unless you know where to look,” Eclipsa winked.

                Eclipsa led her to a long ladder which they climbed only part of the way up before she flung them across the room, the wheels swiveling beneath them. “Of course, I know where my scroll is. Though I still haven’t really figured out there filing system.” They climbed to the top and Eclipsa pulled her scroll from a full shelf. She read beneath her breath, moving the parchment up with her thumbs.

                “And so, the daughter of Eclipsa and King Shastacan,” here there was clearly a different piece of parchment sewed into the scroll, whoever did it didn’t bother trying to hide the fact that it had been done. The thread was red and the ink blue. “Princess Festivia was crowned queen upon her mother’s imprisonment. They took her out.” Eclipsa’s voice broke. “They erased the record of my daughter completely.”

                “I-I’m so sorry.”

                Eclipsa shook her head. “Don’t be, it’s not your fault. Come on, let’s see if they left Meteora’s scroll alone. Maybe yours is a little bit down this way, hm?” She pointed down the aisle, although, it wasn’t clear if the scrolls were organized by alphabet or reign or lineage.

                “I- Okay. Are you sure you’re alright?”

                “I’ll be fine, you can’t survive as queen without tough skin.” And she did _look_ fine, standing there with her hand on her hip, an amused smile adorning her lips.

                “Okay. I’ll look through these but, isn’t there a spell you can use to make the searching go faster?”

                “Well, we can use the All-Seeing Eye spell, but you’re not allowed to use magic in the archives, it’s supposed to stop people from finding things we wouldn’t want them to.”

                “Oh.”

                “Although I can’t remember which queen made that rule. Hm,” she shrugged. “Just call me if you need anything, I’ll be a few floors down.”

                “Alright. Good luck.”

                Once she was gone Festivia sighed, slumping against the wall. “So, I’m just a replacement,” she whispered. “Am I even royalty?” Tears welled in her eyes but swiped them away, scratching her cheek. _No, I can’t cry now. I have to find out what happened_. She pushed off the wall and walked down the aisle to look through the scrolls. _They really should label these._

 

                “Festivia,” Eclipsa called, walking down the hall, two scrolls beneath one arm. “Find anything yet?”

                Festivia sat on the floor, dejected, a scroll in one hand.

                “Festivia?” Eclipsa ran to her. “Are you alright, dear?”

                “There’s nothing,” she whispered.

                “What do you mean?”

                Festivia shoved the scroll at her, “There’s nothing from before I was given the wand. Not how I got here, who I used to be, who my family is? It’s like I wasn’t anyone before this!”

                Eclipsa skimmed, eyes passing quickly across the page as her face fell. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She sat beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Look, there are other ways to find out the truth. We’ll figure it out. And even if we don’t, we’ve still got each other.”

                Tears ran down her cheeks, unbidden but unstoppable, “Promise?”

                “Of course.”

                Festivia smiled, “Thank you.” She wiped her tears away, sniffling and then stood up. “Let’s get going, I’ll take this, though I don’t think it’ll make for solid evidence,” she shrugged, rolling up the scroll.

                “Well, either way, I’ve got mine and Meteora’s.”

                “Great.” Festivia was about to climb down the ladder when Eclipsa stopped her.

                “Hold on, I’ll go down first, that way I can make sure we don’t set off the alarm. You wouldn’t want dozens of sharpened quills shot at you?”

                Festivia shook her head, “No. I wouldn’t.”

                Eclipsa hopped down, scrolls in hand, alarming Festivia who was just climbing back up.

                “Okay, now you can down,” she called.

                “I don’t have to jump do I,” Festivia asked.

                “No darling, take your time.”

                The princess ended up sliding down the ladder, losing her balance long enough to drop the her scroll and falling after it after failing to grab it. Eclipsa ignored the scroll, holding her arms out to catch the child.

                “Oof,” Festivia said. Her diamonds glowed a soft purple as she blushed, “I am not usually this clumsy.”

                “That’s alright, we all have our moments.” Eclipsa set her down.

                “Okay, let’s hurry out of here,” Festivia said, walking over to the scroll. As she picked it up, she felt a floor tile go down beneath her foot.

                The alarm went off and the hands threw the quills at them.

                “I told you to watch your step.”

                Eclipsa grabbed her and they ran out of there before the Magical High Commission could come barreling up the hall. They hid around a corner in the caves as they passed by before dashing back up to the series of tunnels that got them there.

                “Alright,” Eclipsa said as they neared the entrance into the stone cottage, “use your scissors.”

                “R-right,” Festivia panted. She pulled them from her pocket and cut open a hole to the Rose Dimension. They barreled through it, collapsing on the grass by the table, breathing heavily.

                “Well, I haven’t had to run like that in years,” said Eclipsa, the usual laughter in her voice. “Are you alright?”

                “That was- that was terrifying,” Festivia said, in between pants.

                “Mhm, you get used to it— Well, if you make an enemy out of the Magical High Commission that is and I definitely did, even before I ran away with Globgor.” She blushed as she said his name.

                Festivia rolled over and pulled herself up into a sitting position, “Your monster husband?”

                “Mhm,” Eclipsa nodded.

                “You must have really loved him.” She looked down at the weeds she was crushing. She supposed that Eclipsa had never loved her Mewman king.

                “I can’t wait to tell you and Meteora how we met, oh, I remember it like it was yesterday.”

                Festivia gave her a small smile and a little chuckle. She felt that it was strained, she felt Eclipsa knew it too. Her heart ached.


	4. The Meeting of Two Princesses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your first official look at Heinous. Time to head to St. O's (lighting and thunder sting) Glossaryck has a chat with Eclipsa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Since we don’t know how long Gemini served at St. Olga’s I’ve decided that he was a dwarf first who was slowly replaced with robot parts.  
> And also, just double checked the Book of Spells, Festivia wasn’t coronated until Year 3 of her era, despite what the scroll says in Eclipsa the Moon. So, she will hence forth be referred to as Princess Festivia.

                Heinous did her best to be the perfect little lady her mother taught her to be. She hid her tail even though she liked her tail. She covered up her cheek marks even though she thought they were pretty. She didn’t get too excited, she knew what happened when she was too excited, she just didn’t like that it happened. It was unbecoming.

                “More tea, Miss Heinous,” asked Gemini.

                She was having tea in her room today; she didn’t want to be around the princesses. At least not until they were ready for graduation. Mother said they would be bad influences on her anyways, she just had to focus on her chores and being a proper, dependable lady.

                “Yes, thank you.”

                The oddly purple dwarf poured her tea, he was very careful and she appreciated that. She just didn’t really like him. Her mother had instructed him to watch and report back if she did anything wrong. And well— it was really had to like a spy.

                “There is good news M’Lady. Princess Festivia of Mewni is paying the school a visit. You might get to meet her.”

                “Oh, that’s wonderful, _she’d_ never have to come to school here.”

                “Not quite, I hear tell that she is quite the little rascal, always throwing parties and skipping court. I imagine she’d be much more dependable if she were sent here.”

                “Oh,” Heinous said, crestfallen, “is that so.”

                “If I may say so, I think you’d make a very dependable queen. You’re St. Olga’s most successful pupil so far.”

                Heinous gave a sheepish half-smile, pleased but still annoyed. “Well, that’s very nice of you.”

                Gemini smiled and shuffled over to his chair by the door and picked up his newspaper. She wondered if he could read with his gem eye. She wondered if he could leave if she removed it.

                Heinous sipped her tea, pinky out at a 90-degree angle. Is any princess fit to rule? _I suppose it’s different when your parents are dead, she is only my age. Still, I hope she knows what she’s doing._

                She’d seen a picture of Festivia once, in the paper. _I wonder what it means that she has cheek marks too. Why doesn’t she hide them?_

 

                Eclipsa did not know what to do first. Take the Magical High Commission to trial, or get Meteora back. And there was also the war and she hadn’t had time to look for Globgor, her dimensional scissors were still with Hekapoo. War or no war, she’d notice if Eclipsa’s were missing. _No_ , Eclipsa thought _, the best thing to do would be to reclaim the throne and have a trial. I’ll let Festivia meet Meteora for now. I hope everything’s okay._ For now, she just had to wait and figure out what she missed. Luckily, the Rose Dimension was the perfect study place.

                “You know Eclipsa,” said Glossaryck, floating over the Book of Spells. “This wouldn’t have happened if you had taken my advice in the first place.”

                Eclipsa pulled a rare frown, “Are you mad at me Glossaryck?”

                “Oh, I’m never mad.”

                Eclipsa rolled her eyes. “You know Glossy, you never did tell me if I was a dud or not. Care to enlighten me now?”

                He watched her; expression stiff. “Mm, no.”

                “No, I’m not a dud, or no, you’re not going to?”

                “No.”

                She huffed, “You know, you can be really mean sometimes. I’ve missed what— eleven years of my daughter’s life and had my legacy written over or locked up and called evil. I could really use some comfort right now.” Tears welled in her eyes as the little blue man blurred.

                “So, what are you going to differently this reign?” He was as unperturbed as ever.

                Eclipsa glowered, but swiped at her tears. “I don’t know. And it’s not like I have much of a guide, there’s only four chapters in that Book and one of them is mine.”

                “Then be the guide for future queens.”

                “How am I supposed to do that. Great Grandma Lyric didn’t exactly have her priorities straight as queen… though I guess I didn’t have mine straight either.” She sniffled. “Glossaryck, I will never allow myself to be that perfect little queen that Mewni wants.”

                Glossaryck shrugged, grinning, “That’s okay, I’ve never been anything anyone has wanted me to be.”

                Eclipsa giggled, “Well I can see that.”

                He used magic through the crystal on his head sometimes, he picked up the pile of snookers wrapped and found the last remaining bar. “Here,” he said, splitting it in half, “let’s brainstorm. You want to be your own queen? Then why bother looking to the past for help?”

                “Because there’s still so much I don’t know about my ancestors that’s to Lyric and your refusal to leave a burning palace,” she said before biting into the chocolate bar. “Why weren’t you at the coronation anyways?”

                He shrugged, “Eh, you see one, you’ve seen a thousand of them. They all start to blend into each other.”

                “I for one, can’t wait to see Meteora’s. I always wondered what her wand would look like, of course I didn’t take the wand but— a queen can dream.” She smiled, devouring the last of her chocolate bar.

 

                _I wish Glossaryck would have come with me. This place is creepy._

                Festivia walked through the halls of St. Olga’s Reform School for Wayward Princesses, flanked by two of her royal guards. St. Olga was giving her a tour and she did her best to smile and nod attentively, even at the tea ceremony room and the oddly sinister singing lessons.

                “This is all wonderful St. Olga, really,” Festivia said, gripping her goblet for strength. “But I am actually here to recruit your daughter for a new um… a new program I’m running to help the less fortunate of Mewni. And well, I thought, surely St. Olga’s own child would be the most suitable assistant to the queen.”

                “She certainly should be,” said St. Olga. “But I am afraid Heinous is still very young and only average in her studies. I’m sure one of the alumni from our school would be more suited to the task.”

                “No, of course not. I want someone my age, another friendly face, who can prove that even young children can…” she had to stop herself from chewing the edge of her goblet as she searched for the right words. It really was a bad habit of hers. “Can do what is necessary for the benefit of the kingdom. Surely you understand that.”

                “I don’t know, a mother does not so easily give up her daughter like that.”

                Festivia pouted, “To be honest, I need a friend but I still need to run my kingdom. I thought, if anyone could help with those two things at once, it would be someone raised at your prestigious school.” She gave the robot an expectant smile.

                “Oh stop, you’ll make me blush.”

                “And if you still have any apprehensions, it’ll only be a week-long trial period.”

                “Well,” St. Olga put her claw to her face. “I suppose a trial couldn’t hurt. You might learn something about being a proper lady too.”

                “What was that?”

                “Come this way Your Majesty.” She led her to Heinous’ room.

                Heinous was working on her embroidery when they were allowed entrance into her room. She curtsied for Festivia. The room liked all the other rooms at the school but with books to give a slightly more personal touch.

                Festivia turned to St. Olga. “Thank, if you don’t mind, I’d let to explain to her myself.”

                “Very well, you behave for the queen Heinous.”

                “Yes, Mummy.”

                She left them, taking the little purple boy with them.

                Heinous stood nervously before her.

                “Hello, I’m Princess Festivia, you can just call me Festivia though.”

                “Oh no, I couldn’t. That’s far too informal for someone like me.”

                “Yes, but I insist. Everyone’s my friend you know, including you. Actually, that’s why I’m here.”

                “P-pardon?”

                “I’m choosing one girl from the kingdom to be my best friend and spend a week at the palace with me. And I’ve chosen you. Your mother has already agreed.”

                “The palace, me?”

                “Mhm. You’ll get to attend royal parties and we can learn new things from each other or whatever. So, pack your things and let’s go, quickly. I really need to get going soon.” Festivia was doing her best not to be offensive.

                “O-okay.”

                Festivia was ready to throw a bunch of dresses in a trunk and leave but Heinous was careful and neat. She set out a number of different outfits on her bed deciding what she would wear each for and if she would need more than one backup. Festivia was glad someone at the palace was paid to think of these things. Overall, it took an hour.

                “Sorry to keep you waiting, Your Majesty,” said Heinous. She opened the door and ordered Gemini to carry her trunk. “If you’ll follow me, I shall lead you to your carriage.”

                “Great, I mean, certainly,” Festivia said, smiling nervously.

                Gemini and St. Olga saw them off.

                “Have a safe trip Miss Heinous, goodbye Your Highness,” he said.

                “Now you remember your manners Sweetie.”

                “Yes, Mummy.”

                “Thank you again for visiting us, Your Majesty.”

                “Well it was my pleasure, goodbye.”

                The two girls sat back and watched as they school became a speck on the horizon.

                “I’ve never been away from home before,” said Heinous.

                “Really, me neither. By the way, do you have any other name that I can call you? No offense but Heinous is a little…well—”

                “Oh,” Heinous said softly, blushing. “I know, but it’s the name Mommy gave me.”

                “How about a nickname?”

                “No one’s ever given me a nickname. Although, I used to dream that my name was Meteora.”

                “That’s perfect. Can I call you Meteora?”

                “W-well I don’t know,” she said, “I don’t think Mommy would like it.”

                “Even respectable ladies have friends who call them nicknames. It’ll be fine, St. Olga will never know. I promise.” Festivia wore and eager smile, it stretched from diamond to diamond.

                “Okay, Your Majesty.”

                “Nope, you are to call me Festivia, friends call each by friend names, not titles.”

                “Oh, right. Then let’s be good friends, Festivia.”


	5. First Night at Butterfly Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as the title says. Alphonse the Worthy gets a line. :)

                “So, this is your room, right next door to mine,” Festivia said, gesturing to the double doors with her cheek marks painted on them.

                “Oh, pretty.”

                “If you need anything, don’t be a stranger and just knock. I’ll be working on some spells tonight anyways.

                “Okay, thank you.”

                Heinous shut the doors to her new room, a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, glowing softly in the dark. One of the palace staff had brought her trunk in for her. It was a nice room; the walls were painted Ponyhead the molding was shaped into little diamonds with sparkles in the middle of them. The bed was a canopy, she had never had a canopy before, they were only for the princesses. _Is it really okay to sleep in this?_ She wondered. She pressed a hand down on the comforter it was satin. _Maybe I could just pretend to be a princess, just this once._ She ran her hand across the fabric, smiling. _But_ ; her face fell, _respectable ladies do not pretend._

                Heinous pulled away from the bed and instead unpacked her things. She’d figure it out later.

 

                Dinner at the castle should have been no small affair. Princess Festivia normally ate alone in her room unless the Commission were attending, then they’d eat in the dining hall. The castle staff were informed, however, that she would have a guest. A guest Fredman recognized but said nothing of, lest he lose his tongue and job. All he had to do was bring them their meals at the dinner table.

                “So, Meteora,” said Festivia as a tray was set before her. “What’s your favorite food?”

                “Cornmeal Porridge.”

                “Ooh, mine’s is pie, rhubarb, lemon meringue, and pigeon.”

                “Really, but it’s bad for you.”

                Festivia shrugged, “I don’t care. Besides, I eat a healthy amount of corn every day. I’ll be fine.”

                “What about exercise?”

                “I dance, a lot. Do you like to dance?”

                “Yes, I know three very well so far.”

                “Same here, but I mostly make up my own.”

                “That’s nice.”

                Fredman poured the girls more grape juice. The lighter haired girl did not seem to like it very much.

                “What shall Her Majesty have for dessert,” he asked.

                “Mm, I don’t know. Meteora, do you like ice cream?”

                “No.” It was as close to rude as she could sound.

                “Rhubarb pie it is.”

                “Very well, Your Majesty.” He came back a minute later. “We are all out of rhubarb, Your Majesty, lemons as well.”

                Festivia’s cheek marks went from diamonds to crying faces as her eyes welled up, “But why?”

                “I am afraid we haven’t been able to restock since your last pie party.”

                “Oh.” She blushed. “Well, then let’s have corncakes instead.”

                “Very good, Your Majesty.”

                “Do you have pie parties often?”

                “No.” She waved the accusation away, refusing to meet Heinous’ eyes. “They’re monthly. That’s not often.” _Sometimes they’re back to back._

                “Festivia, that’s often.”

                She shrugged, “Meh. Forget about that though. I’ve got a super awesome day planned for us tomorrow. I’m so excited. Ah, but no questions, it’s a surprise. All the best parties are a surprise.”

                Heinous gave a small nervous smile, picking at her peas.

 

                Heinous sat on the couch, hugging a throw pillow. She sighed, staring at the bed. “Princess Heinous,” she muttered. She had forgotten to pack her makeup. Well, not forgotten. More like meant to. She rubbed the clovers on her cheeks, fighting everything from within her to prevent them from glowing. “Princess Meteora?”

                St. Olga had told her not to talk about those dreams, she gave her a brain massage when she talked about those dreams. She had learned not to talk about those dreams. Why did she tell the princess about those dreams? _Perhaps I was enchanted. Yes, that’s it, I was enchanted by the princess and her wonderful charm. It’s not my fault at all. Faults are a flaw._ She squeezed the pillow, her nails breaking the fabric and it’s wonderful, though sloppy, embroidery. _I cannot let that happen again._

                _Perhaps I should stop dreaming._

                “Little princesses should be asleep at this hour,” said a voice.

                Dropping the pillow, pressing herself into the couch, Heinous looked around in the dark wildly. She learned not to question why she could see in the dark. She learned without teaching, not to tell anyone, not even St. Olga.

                No one was in the room but her. Nothing was there but the curtains, castle toiletries, and a painting of a sailor. She calmed down, picking the pillow back up, peering from the corners of her eyes. _What could it have been? And why?_ Her tail stuck out involuntarily from beneath her nightdress. She gave it a small smile, twirling it around before hiding it again when a terrifying thought struck her. _What if I’m being watched? What would they watch me with? Why would they watch_ me _?_ She hid under the bed. _What if they know? What if Mummy told them? No, no, she’d never divulge a lady’s flaws… Right?_ She crawled backwards so the bed skirt hid her completely.

                In the darkness a song rang out.

_Little princess, don’t you fear_

_This old captain, will always be here_

_In body, in spirit, in haunted old portrait, oh, ho, ho_

_I’ll keep the secrets you share with me_

_Even the ones you cannot yet see_

_So, sleep little princess_

_Sleep through the night_

_Cuz this old sea captain ’ll give bad guys the fright!_

                _Sea captain?_ The voice did have the lilt of sailors, from what little she had heard of sailors. Cautiously she crawled from beneath the bed, watching the portrait with intense curiosity as she grabbed a pillow from the bed and a blanket. She went back beneath the bed.


	6. The Queen of Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a close look at the Queen of Darkness. (Written before the new episodes).

                She missed him.

                She wanted to find him, but she had told Festivia to wait at least three days before bringing Meteora to see her. She was struggling to dip down, no matter, she was a skilled spellcaster, she’d figure it out sooner or later. Maybe she’d save time by using her grandmother’s “Infuriating Repeater” spell, she had it memorized if she ever got herself into trouble that her own spells couldn’t get her out of. But really, Eclipsa knew she wouldn’t use it. Not yet anyways.

                No, she was really using the extra time to think.

                “Oh Globgor, I wish you were here with me. I always knew exactly what to do when we were together.” She tossed dead roses into a bucket. “If I could, I’d go inside your head and we’d have a date like the old days. Except, well—, it’d be in your head.”

                The roses were doing well considering she hadn’t tended to them for twelve years. Perhaps Glossaryck had cared for them for her. _Well, no one has probably tended to my roses in the castle gardens. I really wish I had thought to ask Festivia about those._ There was a lot she really wished she had thought of.

                “I promise, once I’ve this whole scandal with the Magical High Commission sorted out and the kingdom calmed down, we’ll be together again and we can watch Meteora grow up like we wanted.”

                “Are you talking to yourself?”

                “Hm. Oh, hello Glossaryck. How long were _you_ listening?” Amusement stood where sadness once rested.

                “Not long. Have you practiced today?”

                “Of course. And it didn’t work. This was so much easier when I was younger.”

                “There was less for you to learn. Besides, you’re twenty-three.”

                “Well, technically I’m thirty-five.”

                “Time stops in Rhombulus’ crystals.” He drove the Book of spells over to the picnic blanket. “Let’s give that Dip Down a whirl, huh?”

                “Sure.” She stood in front of him, breathing deeply the scent of wet roses. “Dip down.”

                “Louder and longer, Clips, remember your Mewberty.”

                “I’d rather not,” she chuckled, blushing. She sighed and stood straight, trying to remember the feeling of using magic with the wand.

                “It won’t work that way, I’m afraid. Didn’t you dip down a little when the Monster Temple was stormed?”

                She put her hands on her hips, “Glossaryck if I had dipped down then this is not the conversation we would be having right now.”

                “Fair enough. But try again.”

                “Dddiiiiipppp Dddooooowwnn!”

                “You’re getting closer. Maybe we should recreate the scene.”

                “Oh, please don’t, I hate it when you do that.”

                “Why? It’s the most tried and true way of getting a princess or queen,” he pointed his hand to her, “to dip down. Well, except for Dirhennia,” he muttered.

                “What?”

                “I said, except for _Soupina_.”

                “Ah, I remember her, she learned to do it when she was five. I liked her; I wish I could have learned some of her spells. Even one.” She pouted, pleading with her eyes. Eclipsa was sure he knew every spell that any queen or princess had ever even _made_ , whether it was in the Bok of Spells or not.

                “I only teach what’s in the Book. It’s not my fault Lyric decided t burn down Butterfly Castle.”

                “Well not on purpose.”

                He sighed, “Regardless, that Book’s gone now. Let’s just use what we have. Your grandmother Skywynne didn’t even need me to teach her, now _she_ was advanced. Of course, so are you.”

                Eclipsa chuckled, “Yes, so I’ve been told. Mother said the same thing sometimes.”

                “Oh, I remember, Queen Warmonger. You two are so different. It’s weird. You’re pretty weird Eclipsa.”

                “You’re one to talk, Gloss. You live in a book.”

                “A very nice book. I mean, it’d be great if it were fireproof but then it’d be harder to fly, all those pages. All those queens.”

                “Yup, all thirty-one of us.”

                “No, Festivia refuses to write her spells down. She’ll have to hurry though; this book won’t be hers much longer.”

                “True.” She closed her hand into a fist, frowning. “She’ll still get to be a princess, at least until we find her real parents.”

                “Uh-huh, yeah. So about recreating your crystallization?”

                “No. I don’t care if it will help me dip down.”

                “Fine, if you want to do this the hard way.”

                “Well, it _is_ the fun way.”

                “Okay, what’s the thing you want the most in the whole multi-verse?”

                “You know that, my family.”

                “Let’s think about them for a while. Protection, love, happiness. Stew in that for a bit and see if those emotions trigger something. I’ve gotta go mess with a septarian.”

                “Okay, have fun. Bring me back some more chocolates.” He opened a portal.

                “I’ll think about it.”

                She shook her head, grinning. _Same old Glossaryck._

                Eclipsa was sure that even if she went three hundred years into the future, that little man, or god, or whatever he was, would never change. _At least something would still feel like home. I wish this still felt like home._ A rose petal flew into her dress, she held it, caressing it with her thumb. _It’s strange how homes start to feel like prisons if you stay in one long enough._ Her smiled turned sad until it dropped altogether. No one was there to watch her perform. _There will always be a barrier around the castle, a queen has got to have something to protect. There will always have been someone better, but there will always be someone to come. No queen gets to be queen again, at least not as far as we know. So, I’ve got to make this reign better. I’ve got lessons learned to show._ She sighed.

                “And I know they’re not ready for monsters, and maybe the monsters aren’t ready for us. But it’s better to cut a dead bud early, then have it ruin the whole bush. I won’t give them the war they crave, won’t even let them try. All I know is war and famine and I think it’s about time, that Mewni enter a new era where the queen won’t have to die.” She crushed the petal in her fist, “And her princess won’t have to cry.”

 

                _Queen Solaria had the most fearsome, mightiest sword in all of Mewni, and although Eclipsa wasn’t sure her wand would be the same, she did take comfort in its glow, even if it meant something bad was about to happen. The young princess had seen its light burn with rage any time news of the Solarian Army’s defeat reached Butterfly castle. Her mother could not stand them gaining even an inch back of their land. Eclipsa watched her mother slash at the air, the Sword of Aggression leaving a fading trail of her magic in every direction._

_The princess had never ignored the part of her lesson that explained the war. She knew it was the monsters’ land, she knew her mother believed they didn’t deserve it. It was an idea she found harder to swallow which each year, especially now that she was with Globgor._

_She didn’t carry a wooden sword. She didn’t carry a sword at all._

_“How are you going to defend yourself,” asked Solaria._

_Eclipsa shrugged, grinning mischievously, “I’ll keep a dagger. I’ve always thought they suited me better.”_

_“A dagger is_ not _a_ sword _.” Solaria stabbed her wand into the soil._

Neither is a wand, _she thought._

_“I won’t forget your training.”_

_“Really,” Solaria arched a brow, matching her daughter’s grin. Alphonse told her they had the same smile. “Alright then, let’s test it. Sparring session, right now.”_

_“In_ this _dress?” She held her arms out, framing the wide, long skirt of her midnight blue evening gown._

_Solaria scoffed, “Not my fault your uncle Jushtin is so fabulous. Besides, I’ve fought many battles in my skirt.”_

_“Yeah, but it’s made out of metal, and above your knees.”_

_“Well if it really bothers you, go change. But, remember, a monster won’t wait to make sure you’re in the right outfit for a fight.”_

_“Hmph, then I’ll just make a spell that lets me change clothes faster. Imagine the possibilities.”_

_“Pfft, sweetie just go change. Hurry, time test.”_

_“What, no fair.” Eclipsa picked up her skirts and ran to the Rose Tower._

_“You’ve got five minutes, put your uncle’s lessons to good use,” she called. Hopefully they’ll come in handy during your reign,” she muttered._

_She knew getting that dress off on her own wouldn’t be easy, she’d have to remember to make the fashion of her reign something looser. On her way to her room she grabbed her handmaiden to help her. It only dawned on her as she was running back, in an older, thinner dress, that she should have just taken the crinoline and padding out. Breathless and annoyed with herself, she made it back out to the courtyard and straightened her hat. Solaria tossed her a wooden sword._

_“You’re keeping your hat on?”_

_“Can’t I? I’ll never let anyone knock it off. What kind of fight would I be if I didn’t protect my face?”_

_“Not my daughter.” She winked, and then got into position. Stance wide, body lowered, Solaria gripped the hilt of her wooden sword with both hands. “Ready?”_

_Eclipsa mimicked her stance, smirking, “Always.” It was a promise._

 

                My mother never was the sweet little princess they wanted, but she certainly made them feel superior to monsters. Nothing like rampant colonialism to make a country worse. Huffing through her nostrils, she fell back onto the blanket.

                “Princess Eclipsa, daughter to Solaria, as powerful as Skywynne, as fashionable as Jushtin. Who knows what she will do? To Mewni she swears, she’ll always think of you. A queen must do what she has to, and a princess must too. Princess Eclipsa will be our queen,” she sung and then groaned. “I really regret signing off on that song.”

                She turned over on her side, taking her hat off and placing it above her. “Maybe I should rewrite it when I rewrite my coronation song.” She shut her eyes, it was hard to do anything but sleep here, when her guitar was still in the Rose Tower. _Protection, love, family_.

                Protection. Love. Family.


	7. Hide and Seek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Festivia wants to play a game. Heinous learns something new.

                Festivia wanted to play a game.

                She might have been getting a little caught up in the excitement of having a friend and forgetting that she needed to visit Eclipsa. But they had the whole week and it’s not like Heinous _knew_ that’s what she was supposed to be doing.

                Regardless, hide and seek wouldn’t usually be much fun with only two people but if there was one thing Festivia was good at, it was making things fun. She split the castle up into zones and throughout the course of the game the zones they could hide rotated. Just for an extra challenge, Festivia had Fredman be the seeker in the last round. And there was only one zone left. Of course, she had the perfect hiding spot.

                Heinous on the other hand had yet to find hers. It didn’t help that she had no idea where she was. She walked slowly, gripping her hands in front of her, slight hunched as she looked around though she knew a lady should always stand tall. Her act of bravery was short lived. Leaving her makeup behind wasn’t such a good idea when she woke up and saw her clovers on her cheeks. She couldn’t make them disappear and to sneak into one of the maids’ rooms to use their makeup. She hadn’t down a very good job and it washed off during the last round. She had fallen into the fountain when Festivia surprised her.

                _And now they’re glowing again_ , she noticed, with horror. _At least no one is around._

                She heard something like singing.

                _Or maybe not._

                It was a low keening sound that sent shivers throughout her whole body and it drew her to it. Heinous tried to fight its lull, reciting her lessons in her head and then muttering them when she felt sound was required to combat sound. She tried desperately to retrace her steps and leave the zone but a corner hair, a turn there, and a corridor later she was back where she started. Back with the song.

                “Oh, please stop it, I don’t know what you are.”

                The song persisted. Her cheeks still glowed.

                She made a small whining noise, shrinking into herself. It gave her a weird feeling. Not bad, just— weird. “Fear is a weakness a lady must never express.”

                Heinous walked straight forward, right where she thought the sound was coming from. The corridor led into another long corridor with tapestries along the walls, but no name to any of them. The singing seemed to move now, beckoning her into a circular room with all the same tapestries.

                “Where is this?”

                The doors shut swiftly behind her.

                She jumped, alert. Her ears perked up as she tensed— waiting.

                The floor shook and rumbling as steam rose from it along with a triangle shaped pedestal. The singing had stopped. She looked around, took a deep, strengthening breath and walked up to it and as gracefully as she had been taught. The first thing Heinous noticed was the tapestry above. A lovely woman in a dark purple dress and the most beautiful hat held a mauve parasol while sitting in the arm of a giant monster. She was smiling. She was regal. Her cheeks had spades on them. Heinous touched her own cheeks, clovers, three leafed clovers. There was a boy in a tapestry out there with four leafed clovers. Mayhaps there was some significance. _Don’t be an idiot, if there was then the voice would have led you to_ his _, not_ hers _. Who is this anyways?_

                She looked down, involuntarily tracing the spade in the eclipsed moon with her index finger. “Spades, eclipses, and ringed planets. I wonder what the significance is.” She ran her hand across the words, feeling the grooves and dents made by the engravings. “Eclipsa Queen of Mewni to a Mewman King was wed, but took a monster for her love, and away from Mewni fled. She abandoned her kingdom? Well that’s not very queenly but…” she glanced behind her as her tail unfurled from below her dress. “She did it for love.”

                _I’d like to flee. I wonder what it’s like._

                Heinous sat down by the pedestal, allowing herself to lean against it. She laughed bitterly as her tail flicked back and forth, “Mayhaps I should take a monster for my love. Mayhaps I’d make a good daughter to you,” she looked up at the tapestry, smiling. “I’m just the sort of abomination that would come out of that relationship.” Her smile faltered, saddened, fell. She pulled her knees in and bawled into her crossed arms.

 

                It was Fredman who found her hours later, curled up in a bawl below her mother’s tapestry. It was Fredman who kept everyone else from seeing her.


	8. Don't You Remember Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's go to the Monster Temple!

                “I think it’s, don’t you,” said Glossaryck, floating above her jewelry box.

                “How hard do you think it would be to convince Meteora to pierce her ears?” She frowned at a pair of clip-on earrings that Hekapoo had given her. She held them up to her ears, scrutinizing her reflection. She’d be able to get real ones now, she had already magicked up a pair for Solaria’s spell, they were shaped like her cheek marks.

                “Festivia.”

                “Okay, okay.” She dropped the earrings in the box and spun on her vanity stool. “I’m going to go get us a lunch, you go check on Meteora. She wasn’t feeling well yesterday. Be nice okay?”

                “I know time isn’t your thing but you really should learn to utilize it.” With that, he took the Book of Spells and went next door. Festivia was surprised to see him knock.

                “Please go away,” said Heinous.

                “Miss Heinous,” he bowed even though she could not see him “sorry to disturb you, but we have an important trip planned and I really must brief you. May I come in?”

                “I shall have to abstain from attending this trip.”

                “It concerns you.”

                “How?”

                He looked from one end of the hall to the next, “Haven’t you ever wondered who your parents were?”

                The left door opened a cracked, Heinous peeked out. Her pupils had contracted, like the eyes of a snake. Or a cat at night.

                “What do you know about my parents?”

                “Oh, I know everything. And sometimes I share that knowledge, and this is one of those times.”

                “Who are you anyhow?”

                “Sir Glossaryck of Terms, royal advisor and mentor to every Butterfly queen, princess, and prince.”

                “Oh.” Crestfallen she stepped back. “So, you’re supposed to tell me how I’m going to help the royal family?”

                “Something like that, yes.”

                “Very well, you may enter. I’m afraid I won’t be a very good hostess at the moment. Sorry for the mess.”

                He flew in, landing the book on her writing desk. She shut the door softly, staying in the shadows. The pages of the Book flipped on their own to the fourth chapter, where a skull acted as a lock. “Pardon me, I’m just going to unlock this.” He used one of twelve toenails as a key, the bottom jaw fell.

                “Am I allowed to see this? I’m not a Butterfly.”

                “Do you like fairytales?”

                “No,” she snapped.

                “Up, up, up, a lady should never lie.”

                Glowering she nodded. “Yes.”

                “I know a great one, but it doesn’t have a happy ending. Would you like to hear it?”

                “Yes?”

                “Once upon a time there was a princess who only knew war. Her mother was a genocidal maniac.” The Book stood up to show her Solaria’s drawing of her and Eclipsa with her wooden sword. It flipped to a rendering of Solaria with her army charging into battle with the monsters.

                “And the princess was almost just like her and would have been too if it weren’t for her innate curiosity in the world around her and habit for questioning lessons,” he said with a slight groan. “She excelled at finding secret passageways to sneak around, and holes in her mother’s magical barrier. It was her favorite pastime. One day she snuck into the Forest of Certain Death and met a young prince.”

                The book flipped from a map of Mewni to a dating guide. “He later turned into this handsome lug. He may look scary, but looks are deceiving.” He shrugged; his finger still pointed at the noble size-shifter. “Anyhow, they became friends, slowly. Of course, they were afraid of each other at first, what with monster and Mewman relations being what they are. He found her especially terrifying, she did take after her mother in that department. Just in a different way.”

                “Are you insulting them?”

                “A little.”

                “Rude. Go on.”

                “And after becoming friends they became lovers. She taught him a secret language, Low Mewman, so they could send messages to each other. Sappy stuff like I love you and rendezvous agreements. And if she was worried that he wasn’t okay-”

                “Why?”

                “Because he was the prince of darkness and her mother wanted his kind dead.”

                “That’s horrible.”

                “I told you she was terrible. But the important thing is that her daughter wasn’t. So, if the princess wasn’t sure if her prince was okay, she would use her spying spell to check on him. Initially she had designed it to help the war effort but realized her mother would probably use it on her, since she was so sneaky, and ended up not sharing it. There were over a dozen spells like this. She never told her prince she was spying on him sometimes; she didn’t think she needed too. For future reference, don’t do that to your friends or loved ones, ever. Spying leads to crying, you know? Promise?”

                “I promise.”

                “Good.”

                “Anyhow, long story short, the prince of darkness and the princess of Mewni fell in love and then the queen of Mewni died.”

                “Well that’s not happy.”

                “But she forced her daughter to marry a prince she didn’t love for royal relation reasons so she eloped with her monster boyfriend. However, some bad big dummies with too much power for their own good thought she was evil for it and trapped them in a crystal.”

                “Okay.”

                “Before they were trapped, they had a baby girl.”

                “Festivia?!”

                “No.”

                “Well then who else is the princess?”

                “The daughter to Eclipsa Queen of Darkness and King Globgor, former Prince of Darkness, was named Meteora Butterfly.”

                “I like that name.”

                “It’s a beautiful name. It suits you. And now that you’re all caught up, I can tell you the best part. The princess, doesn’t know that she’s the princess.”

                “Because of the big baddies?”

                “Yes, because of them. Don’t worry, they’ll be fired soon enough, I hope.”

                “I thought you knew everything?”

                “I do, but this isn’t my original timeline. Believe or not but even omnipotence can be curious and experimental. Sometimes it turns out bad, sometimes not bad.”

                “Good, you mean good.”

                “Yeah, not bad.”

                “Well, if you know everything, can you help me?”

                “Hide your marks? Yes, but it’ll damage you and I cannot, in sound mind, do that.”

                “Okay, then what about this?” She held her arm into the light, red fur like a tabby cat’s ran up along it. “Can you get rid of this?”

                “Mm, sure.” He shut the book, sitting on it. “Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.”

                She did as she said.

                “Think of something that makes you happy, calm.”

                “Happiness is not calm.”

                “Pick one.”

                “Ha-c-calm. Calm.”

                “What makes you calm?”

                “Roses.”

                “Well you’re in luck. We’re going to a rose dimension.”

                “Really? I’ve never left this dimension before.”

                “Yes, it’ll be fun. You might even get a toy.”

                “A lady does not need toys.”

                “Children do.”

                “Really?”

                He nodded.

                “Will it be okay if this doesn’t go away, if I’m in a different dimension?”

                “Where we’re going? Yes.”

                She smiled, cautious but relieved. “Okay.”

 

                Eclipsa was nowhere in sight.

                “I swear this wasn’t supposed to happen,” said Festivia, holding her arms out in some sort of plea for forgiveness. “I’m sure she’s around here somewhere, I’ll go find her. W-why don’t you go and wait inside?”

                “Alright.

                “Great, so, I’ll,” she jabbed a thumb behind her, pointing to the rose maze. “I’ll be right back.” She ran.

                Heinous and Glossaryck shared a look and shrugged.

                “Come on Meteora, let’s go raid the picnic basket.”

                “No, we have to wait until everyone is here.” She hugged the basket.

                “Ugh, fine.”

                They sat in the kitchen; shutters thrown open to let the light in. Glossaryck conjured a ball to toss around while Heinous read the Book. “Are these symbols translatable?” He shrugged, he didn’t feel like teaching Low Mewman right now, besides, Eclipsa would teach her. His ball bounced against the wall and crashed into the vase, breaking it. The water spilled out and the rainbow-colored roses withered and died, returning to their original white as they did. Eclipsa stopped growing white roses in the dimension some time ago.

                “Oops. It’s a shame, she liked those too.” He picked up a rose, inspecting it. “She never told me this spell.”

                “That’s because it wasn’t finished yet,” she said, walking through the open door, baskets of dead roses hung on her arms. She dropped them on the table. “I do hate to see the roses die but,” she shrugged, “such is life.” She smiled at Heinous and began to cry.

                “M-ma’am?”

                “Oh,” Eclipsa said, wrapping Heinous in a hug.

                Heinous’ eyes widened, she looked helplessly at Glossaryck but he was still investigating the roses. “Pardon?”

                Eclipsa pulled back. “Don’t you remember me?” She struggled not to let her pain show.

                “You’re Queen Eclipsa, correct?”

                “Correct.”

                Heinous stood and curtsied, “I am Heinous, of St. Olga’s Reform school, pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

                “Reform school?”

                “Mhm,” she nodded. “I was raised there.”

                “Were you now,” there was an edge to her voice that frightened the young girl. “Well that must have been— interesting. Glossaryck, a word?”

                “Hm,” he tossed the dead rose aside. “If you’re going to ask about the archives, I have no control over those.”

                “Is that so, I don’t have nearly enough time to comb through the entire Bureaucracy to find what I’m looking for.” She wiped her tears, “It’ll have to be during the trial.”

                “The Bureaucracy?” Heinous frowned.

                “The Bureaucracy of Magic, you’ll see it soon. It’s the second to next step on this little journey of ours.”

                “What kind of journey?”

                “Well you see, Festivia and I have been gathering evidence of treason.”

                Heinous gasp, “Oh no. Who are your suspects? Can I help?”

                “Well of course dear, you’re part of the case. I’ll explain everything in full at our next stop. Let me go get Festivia.” She hurried out of the cottage and into the rose maze.

                “A sad tale indeed,” said Glossaryck. “Meteora, what chapter are you on?”

                “Prince Jushtin’s. Did I do something wrong? Why am I part of the investigation?”

                “Keep reading. You’re good at memorization, right?”

                “Of course, it’s one of a lady’s four greatest virtues.”

                “There’s four?” He floated on his stomach, spinning slowly.

                “Mhm, Beauty, wit, memory, and skill.” She turned the page onto Solaria’s chapter.

                “You don’t have to read that chapter.”

                “Wow, she was quite the artist.”

                “You are a fast reader.”

                “Of course.”

                “And?”

                “And is not a full sentence Sir Glossaryck.”

                “My apologies. What do you think of her chapter?”

                “She wasn’t a very proper lady and, forgive me if I am out of line, she seems horrifying.”

                “Yeah. At least there was one good thing about her. Guess what it was?”

                Heinous turned back to the crayon drawing, expression neutral. “She adored her daughter.”

                She flipped past the pages with the ribbons, at least she thought they were ribbons. Honestly, they were the strangest markings in the Book. And came again to the chapter Glossaryck had unlocked earlier that day. Eclipsa’s portrait stood out from all the rest as a little sinister, darkness being part of her title didn’t help, but it could not be nearly as bad as monster carver. The dress she wore looked alive and everything was green and smoky. Though the last two portraits had looked directly at her, neither of them gave the soul-seeing feeling that Eclipsa’s look did. _She looks amused._ Heinous turned the page.

 

                There was no time left.

                She’d considered the possibility that she wouldn’t remember her, of course she had. She had convinced herself that she could handle it and she couldn’t but there was no time for her too handle it now. It was just a fact. One she’d just have to live with for the time being. And yet… This was a pain much worse than the purple vein along her arms. It felt like Solaria’s murder all over again. At least here there was a chance of retrieving what was lost.

_And why should she remember me? She was only a babe. My babe._

                She took a deep breath, wiping her eyes. _The important thing is she’s alive and that we’re together now._ She reached in her pocket for her last remaining snookers.

                Festivia wasn’t hard to find, she kept shouting out Eclipsa’s name and the wand radiated magic. Finding them was easy, talking to the child was easy. Opening a portal to the temple was all easy. Being there was not.

                “So, Meteora, anything coming back to you,” Festivia asked. “Do you remember this place?”

                “I think I’d remember a place like this,” she said with a little chuckle.

                “Well, maybe you’ll remember your old bedroom, right Eclipsa?”

                “It’s certainly possible.”

                “Then what are we waiting for, let’s go!” Festivia grabbed Heinous’ hand and dragged her along behind her as she ran off.

                “Girls, be careful.” Eclipsa opened her parasol and floated after them, landing in front of them. “You don’t even know where you’re going.”

                “Woah, you can fly with that?”

                “Yes, I would prefer not to get lost in the Monster Temple.”

                Eclipsa’s smile was pitying, not on purpose. “Well I know exactly where it is, follow me.”

                She led them deeper into the temple and then down some stairs. They descended into a room full of creepy statues lit by her wand and the light from the doorway above. She cast a spell to light the torches, taking them to a large set of double doors on the shape of a circle. As they neared, a giant spade appeared, in it, on each door, were smaller clovers. Clubs if you preferred. The clubs began to glow.

                Heinous covered her cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

                Eclipsa gave her a soft smile, “Go on, open it.”

                “Open it?” The doors opened inward to a dusty nursery. “What?” She walked forward.

                Eclipsa held her arm out to stop Festivia from following.

                “Let’s let her have a moment, hm?”

                Festivia blushed, “R-right, of course.”

                Heinous stepped inside the dusty nursery. A fight had broken out there some time ago. Curtains were torn and furniture sat askew. Tiles stuck out from the floor along with stalagmites thicker than her body. There was a rocking horse and elephant goddess statues holding babies. Four eyes surrounded by red fur watched the room from a back wall. She picked up the king and queen doll from the toy castle. The queen looked like Eclipsa and the king her monster husband.

                “These were my dollies.” The memories were faint but she recognized these toys, this room, “I loved my dollies.”

                A rocking crib waited at the other end of the room, she wiped the think coat of dust covering a shooting star and the name carved into the wood, Meteora. “This was my baby bed.” Heinous teared up as memories came back to her in bits and pieces. Slowly turning around the room, taking it all in. The bookshelf, the toy chest, the mural. Queen Eclipsa, the ever smiling, holding a little baby with fluffy purple hair and clovers on her cheeks.

                “Meteora,” Eclipsa took a step closer. “Are you alright?”

                “I-I remember.” Her grip tightened on the dolls looking up. “I remember, but- but.”

                “Sweetie?” Eclipsa ran to her, sliding along the floor. “Meteora?”

                “Why?” she asked quietly. The red fur of her monster blood creeped up her arms. “Why did they do it?”

                Eclipsa sighed, hugging her. “Life is complicated, a lot. Your father and I knew Mewni wasn’t ready to accept us so we didn’t stay in Mewni.”

                “But they still came after us. Why? You weren’t doing anything wrong. You weren’t hurting anyone.”

                “I know, I know. Hatred clouds judgement, destroys reasons. Queen Solaria’s war certainly didn’t help.” Her voice went quiet as she looked away. “I guess it was just too soon.”

                Festivia leaned against the wall, peaking into the room, but respecting Eclipsa’s wishes not to go in. Even Glossaryck stayed outside. _The Monster Mewman war hasn’t ended._ She didn’t realize just how recently it started though.

                Eclipsa turned back to Meteora with a smile, wiping her tears. “But if there isn’t someone to pave the way for the future, then the future won’t have a chance. I’m going to try being queen again. I’m going to give you a world to live in where we don’t have to worry about this,” she gestured to the room, “won’t happen again. I promise.”

                Meteora nodded, sniffling. She hugged her, tightening her arms around her waist. “Okay.”


End file.
